Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Archives

Church and Dogma

Conservative or Liberal Catholic

by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

In almost any group of Catholics today, one hears the question frequently asked,
"Are you a conservative or liberal Catholic?" Or perhaps it is posed, "Are
you charismatic?" Then again the speaker may interrogate his audience about
his familiarity with renewals, retreats, liberation theology, centering prayers,
Cursillo or any other currently popular movement or practice within the Church.
Oftentimes people feel that the answer to such a question involves deep philosophical
pondering. Semantics aside, there can be only one answer to these questions.
But before that reply is supplied, and its rationale, one need examine the rather
bizarre practice of describing our faith in social and political terms and the
implications of such nomenclature.

Considering ones self to be or, conversely, labelling others conservative
or liberal in matters of faith is of relatively recent vintage. While these
terms have a history of application within the political spheres, probably not
until the aftermath of Vatican Council II did they become affixed to attitudes
and beliefs among members of the Catholic Church. Prior to that time, the People
of God were known either as practicing Catholics or fallen away Catholics. The
implication was that the former were on a path of continually honing themselves
toward perfection; the latter had somehow slipped through the cracks, but hope
remained that they could yet see the Way, the Truth, and the Light. This dichotomous
assessment was easily identifiable by others as well as by ones self. One
either totally accepted Catholic dogma and tradition as a package deal or not
at all. So it could not easily be said that before recent ecclesiastical developments
any political mindset in religious matters even existed.

Subsequent to Vatican II, many Catholics seemed to become increasingly more
vocal. Pope Paul VIs emphasis on human interest, in itself just, was soon
to be denuded of any vestige of Christian transcendence and replaced by a materialistic
and humanistic interpretation. The aggiornamento or updating desired
by John XXIII was designed to aid the Church to open its windows. The gentle
breeze he foresaw entering the Church quickly became a violent storm of juxtaposed
philosophies. Ecumenism, once considered the hope for reunification among separated
Christian brethren, came to mean a homogenization of beliefs, bland and innocuously
nonspecific, so they could be readily acceptable to any denomination. Concern
for the poor amplified itself, festered, and oozed out as Liberation Theology
which, in essence, can be seen as nothing less than Marxist ideology replete
with an acceptance of violence and guerilla war overtones thinly disguised by
a veneer of social justice. Despite these perversions, or perhaps even because
of them, many Catholics felt the need to align themselves with either one viewpoint
or the other of what was increasingly appearing as a major rift between opposing
factions. As this division became more obvious, each side waxed more strident
in its declarations and more extreme in the outward manifestations of its beliefs.
This gave rise to the variety of practices easily observable today.

The left of Rome, liberal Catholic manifests his faith in several unique public
expressions. Often he is associated with causes such as gay rights, feminism,
euthanasia, and a plethora of others. His religion is an umbrella which encompasses
saving whales, recycling inorganic materials, worrying about CIA involvement
in Latin American governments, humanizing bureaucratic organizations, and awaiting
a cosmic Christ. The unity he envisions in the new world order has little if
any linkage to the one bread, one body in which the religion he supposedly espouses
was based. In his alleged concern for all rights, he supports many wrongs.
Endorsed by him would be a church in which a non-gender-specific liturgical
service is led by a female priest, assisted by altar girls for a congregation
which consisted of those who hold disparate beliefs all of which were democratically
allowed under the guise of freedom from the patriarchal system whose leadership,
outdated and outmoded, was yet based in Rome.

At the opposite end of the belief spectrum is the conservative Catholic whose
actions and opinions are always right (of center, that is). Archbishop Marcel
Lefebre epitomizes for him the essence of strict adherence to the true faith.
Just as his hands will not be sullied in an exchange of peace nor receive the
Eucharist from a priest or (heaven forbid) an extraordinary minister, so too
will his mind remain untouched by any of the allowable innovations inaugurated
by the Second Vatican Council. As if the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered
in the language of the laity instead of Latin were not bad enough, what could
be said of the scandal of speaking in tongues and other manifestations of the
charismatic Catholic? In practice much like strict interpreter of the Constitution,
this believer professes only that which is explicitly expressed in the Ten Commandments
of in Canon Law; all that which is tacitly implicit is not a viable worship
option.

Extremist beliefs of any sort are always dangerous and often fatal to the institution
with which they are associated. The either/or fallacy is always just thata
meretricious assignment of validity to one point of view with the attendant
obliteration of any counter system. This blindness lends itself to a bigotry
quite often found in social and political systems, but no such taint should
ever be allowed to mar our religious and ethical behaviors.

A question similar to those which began this essay was posed to a Catholic
priest just recently. In response to the query, Father, are you a conservative
or liberal Catholic, he replied, Im a Roman Catholic. I follow the guidelines
of the Vatican. The holder of the Petrine Office is the direct descendent
of Peter to whom were handed the keys of the kingdom. His mandate is clear;
our duty as Roman Catholics is to adhere to both the letter and the Spirit as
the Holy Father delineates them for us, not pick and choose those aspects of
Catholicism more to our liking. As 2 John 9 reminds us, anyone who does not
remain rooted in the teaching of Christ does not possess God, while anyone who
remains rooted in the teaching possesses both Father and the Son.